


Reminiscent Ramblings

by panchostokes (badwolfrun)



Series: Ficverse: Parker and Madison Stokes [6]
Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Angst, Gen, Missing Scene, Nick Stokes has kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25982542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badwolfrun/pseuds/panchostokes
Summary: Parker and Madison visit Nick in the hospital on his birthday. Missing scene for Last Breath.
Relationships: Nick Stokes & Madison Stokes, Nick Stokes & Original Female Character(s), Nick Stokes & Original Male Character(s), Nick Stokes & Parker Stokes
Series: Ficverse: Parker and Madison Stokes [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1385533
Comments: 8
Kudos: 3





	Reminiscent Ramblings

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Nick, and happy 200th published fic to me.

They’ve celebrated birthdays in places other than in the safety and privacy of their home.

Bowling alleys. Backyard bounce houses.

...Camping grounds.

Even arcades and roller rinks, establishes on the brink of extinction and “not what they once were” as their fathers so often reminded them.

Parker would rather hear the reminiscent ramblings of mediocracies that he doesn’t actually care about, if it meant being able to hear his father’s voice at all.

They had more to celebrate than just a birth anniversary, however. When they walked into the hospital room, they were surprised to see that the vegetative puppet trapped in a seemingly endless slumber on the bed now had a more distinguishable face than the mess of bandages that were holding the squashed tomato together.

The amount of wrapping had been reduced, his nose was more prominent—though still crooked. His lips were thinner, though chapped. His beard and hair were daring to stretch longer

His eyes were still closed.

“Daddy?” Madison stammered, the waterworks had already started as she barely kept her hold on the cake in the elevator. Parker swooped and grabbed the box as she ran forward with a hope that he wished he didn’t have to crush.

But he had to anyway.

“I think he’s still sleeping, Mads,” Parker sighed in a tight voice, setting the cake—chocolate cake, Nick’s favorite cake—aside and sitting in his usual chair, fell into the same routine they always did when they visited him.

Except Madison deviated from climbing on the bed next to him. Didn’t even sit in a chair. Didn’t even stand by him. As soon as she saw that he hadn’t woken, she went to the corner in the other end of the room, sank against the wall and hugged her knees, crying heavily and silently.

Greg, who had fallen behind when they got off the elevator and gotten distracted by talking to a nurse, caught up and immediately went to comfort Madison.

“Maddy, what’s wrong?” he asked, crouching in front of her.

“Don’t mind her, she always does this,” Parker mumbled, more to quell his own instinct of rising up to tend to his sobbing sister.

Greg shot Parker a warning glance, who shrugged it off as he went back to his video game.

“I-th-thought he-he was gun-gonna be-a-wake!” Madison sputtered in a wild wail. “For his bur-birthday!”

“Aw, sweetheart…”

“I made him a card! And I can’t give it to him!”

“You can still give it to him,” Greg coaxed the child.

“But he won’t see it…”

“Yeah, but maybe he’ll feel it. You can read it to him. Describe how it looks, and maybe...he’ll see it in his dream.”

“Dead men don’t dream,” Parker scoffed.

“Park…” Greg sighed as his words set the previously calming Madison off even more.

“Don’t call me that. Only Dad can call me that!” Parker sneered.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, and Greg waited for Madison to calm down before trying again.

“How about it? And then maybe we can go get some ice cream.”

“Okay…” Madison sniffled, wiping her face with the back of her hand, strands of hair tangled in her mouth.

Greg lifted her up, carried her and put her right next to Nick. She used one hand to guide his as she described the card, just as Greg had suggested. The more she read, the more excited she got in detailing the colors and her word choices, and by the end, there was a huge smile on her face.

And Parker’s too, but he wouldn’t quite show it.

“Happy birthday, Daddy,” Madison whispered into his ear, before planting a sloppy but gentle kiss on his cheek.

If Greg didn’t know any better, he would have thought the corners of Nick’s lips twitched into a smile as well.

But he still had a long ways to go before he could come back to them.


End file.
